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Published: June 21st 2019
The monsoon season was still ongoing across UK. The heavens had opened at the weekend and bucket loads of rain continued to fall, as we approached midweek. There was a brief respite, as we cautiously trundled down the M1. Oh what a difference it was from last summer, when we became tired of yet another baking, dry day. We were bound for a heatwave in Eastern Europe. It had been 30 degrees plus for weeks in Poland and there was no sign of it abating. We walked out of the terminal at Poznan Airport into a wall of heat. As a man of public transport, the last thing I usually do is look for a taxi. The weather and it being the Other Half's birthday, softened me up and we sped off for the Old Town. Mr Taxi didn't seem keen on his meter which surprised me a bit, but with a fair idea of the appropriate cost we agreed a price as we pulled away from the arrivals. The airport was quite close in to the city centre, so we were deposited at the Ibis on the edge of the Old Town in less 30 minutes. Dzien Dobry (or Gin
Dobry, if you prefer the alcoholic version). The Ibis is always a sound choice. It isn't a palace, but they are always well situated and do a hearty breakfast. We checked in and went for an exploration.
The Other Half had faced the usual 20 questions on our desination from her work colleagues. As always, where and why feature strongly. I am not quite sure why the English education system fails so badly with geography. How do you not know roughly where a city of over 500,000 is? The majority struggled with the country. They shrugged their shoulders and put it down to another one of those obscure football trips that her husband thrives on. She assured them that football was not on the agenda this time. I was in a generous mood. I had indeed noticed that the final home league game of Lech Poznan II had been rearranged for this very evening. Alas, they played their games in the nearby town of Wronki and with the heat even I was not up for the challenge of decamping the 60 kilometres in search of the fairly pointless end of season game. You can see by the fact I
had checked the distance, it had been considered. I must be getting old, but I am not really keen on watching what was is in effect a reserve team. I didn't mention the football to the Other Half and strolled towards the Stary Rynek or Old Town Square. The decision to play dumb with the football proved a good move. The game had been originally postponed in May due to "the state of the pitch", whatever that means in translation land. The opposition clearly disagreed with the verdict and this time "refused to travel", having probably already blown the budget on turning up the first time. Lech Poznan II were awarded the points and a symbolic 3-0 win for the record.
It has to be said that Old Towns are two a penny all over Eastern Europe, but this one takes some beating. OK so the destruction of 1945 means that it is primarily of 1950s construction vintage, but that doesn't detract. I settled in with my overpriced beer on the edge of the square to enjoy the late afternoon sun. Beer inflation in Poland is rampant, if you choose a seat with a view. The Square was kind
of cluttered with what can only be described a German Christmas Market, except it wasn't Christmas and the choice of gift was a little less seasonal. There would not be a lot of call for a glass of mulled wine with the temperature still over 30 degrees. I guess that it gives a use for the wooden sheds, that otherwise would be packed away until December. We wandered for a while. The Other Half took an interest in a stall selling amber, but decided that prices were not as attractive as previous purchases in Poland and the Baltic states. A stall selling old football badges and the like was more to my liking, but I guess there is a limit to how many old Communist football badges a man can acquire. The Other Half is always keen to remind me they are likely to end up in a skip, if I go first. The bars all around the Square were full to overflowing with drinkers and diners. Large crowds of those finishing work and a bit of tourist traffic circumnavigated. The front of the Town Hall was masked in shade, but we would return to that another day. The other
Poznan Street Art
“Śródka Tale with Trumpeter on the Roof and Cat in the Background.”buildings shone majestically in the sunlight. We sneaked in another for the road, before heading off in the direction of food. Water sprinklers sent a cloud of fine mist into the air, as the people of Poznan struggled to cool themselves. At 8.30 pm, it was still 31 degrees! We dined on the terrace at Manekin. It is a chain that specialises in pancakes, which we first encountered in Lodz. Sweet, savoury, pancakes cut in strips like tagliatelle - you name it, they do to a pancake.
The weather was a little more overcast in the morning, but it was still forecast to be humid and dry. We circled the eastern side of the town centre following the River Warta. Today we think of Warsaw as the centre of the Polish universe, but Poznan is described as "where it all began". The district of Ostrow Tumski or Cathedral Island dates from the 8th or 9th century, when a fortified settlement was established here. The district turned into the hub of the early Polish state and became on the seat of the first Christian bishops of Poland. The first Polish capital was at Gniezno, about 50 kilometres away. The island
is dominated by the Cathedral, but surrounded by a series of other smaller churches and the Bishops Palace situated just across the road. It was all quiet on this midweek morning, save for a few school outings who were busy learning about the history of Poland. The bustling city centre is a few hundred yards away, but here on the island it was very tranquil. The main road leading to the city passes close by, but the red facade of the Bishop Jordan Bridge is now closed to traffic and few cars seemed to enter the area. The old tram lines still lie buried in the road, but no trams come here anymore. The few cafes and restaurants were waking up and we took in a cup of coffee, before walking across to the modern Heritage Centre known as Brama Poznania. I stopped to photograph the structure through the padlocks of unity attached to the railings. The Poznania is a striking modern building, but somehow lacks the impact of the rust coloured WW2 Museum in Gdansk. It sits on one bank of a river channel and a slender glass bridge stretches out towards the old fortifications still in situ on
the Cathedral side. I had decided against buying a Poznan Card - which gives free admission to some attractions, but only a discount off this one. The entry fee was 18 Zlotys, which sounds quite expensive for this part of the world but included a free head set with guided tour. The Heritage Centre basically covers the history of Poznan in short films and other exhibits and was a lot better than I was expecting. It has the bonus of there being another free head set tour of Ostrow Tumski included in the price, although it possibly wasn't communicated to all as we didn't see anybody else using them out in the street. After you have deposited the first head set, walk across the glass bridge where the next one is available. The second tour features a guide to the Cathedral, which costs you another 4 Zlotys to enter. In fairness, the second fee didn't seem particularly enforced as many just seemed to wander in and out at will.
As the main city developed, the centre moved across the River Warta to the current location on the west side. The Cathedral Island was left to the church men. The
Cathedral was rebuilt a couple of times in the 14th and 15th Centuries, but pretty much destroyed again in 1945 as the Red army pushed towards Berlin. The Cathedral was 60% destroyed and the rebuilding exercise in the 1950s saw it restored to the Gothic style. The main feature is the Golden Chapel. It re-opened in 1956. Pope John Paul visited in 1983 and a statue of him stands across the square. We returned outside and deposited our head sets back with the Poznania Heritage Centre. The temperature was climbing again by this time, so we took a lunch break in the best rated perogi restaurant in Poznan - at least according to a well known travel review website. I think it was best described as disappointing. An unhearlded side of Poznan is the street art and one of the better examples lies just beyond the Bishop Jordan Bridge. This area is called Srodka and on the gable end of a building overlooking the old market place is the art entitled “Śródka Tale with Trumpeter on the Roof and Cat in the Background.” It has been in situ since 2015 and shows a modern interpretation of the area in the
1920s in a splendid 3D style. As well as being a masterpiece in the field, it is a cunning method of enticing the visiting hordes to press on into the district and spend some money in what looks like a former forgotten area of the city.
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Kuan Yin
Karen Johnson
Pictures?
What is the first picture posted in your blog? Is it street art, or a lens on your camera? Either way, it is very cool.